Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Saturday, February 23, 2013 Read – Luke 12:49-59 & Micah 7:1-7 Luke continues his section of warnings – sharing three sections with Matthew who places each of them in very different locations. Luke’s source is “Q”. The first section is the ominous declaration of Jesus that he has not come to bring peace to the earth but division. For those who have come to think of Jesus as the one who brings peace these words seem out of place. What does Jesus mean when he says he has come not to bring peace but division? As we dig deeper into these words it becomes clear that Jesus has reached back into the OT to proclaim words he found there in the book of Micah – Jesus’ words and Micah’s match nearly word for word. That is why we are invited to read Micah today. The words of Micah provide the context for understanding Jesus own words. Micah laments the corruption and unfaithfulness of the people God has sent him to prophesy to. In fact, in some ways Micah’s words are the lament of God over a wayward people. Jesus is also lamenting the reality that the people he has come to serve are corrupted – many of them do not welcome the “visitation of God” in their midst. Likely people in Luke’s time knew firsthand the division that following Jesus brought to families. Likely, though perhaps to a lesser extent, that same division may have been happening for those who followed Jesus at the time of his ministry. Travelling with Jesus may prove to be hazardous. Divisions in our world are also likely and sometimes we may know the tragedy of families divided over allegiance to Jesus. As I mention Luke shares this saying with Matthew – Matthew strategically places this warning in the instruction Jesus gives to the Twelve as he sent them on their first mission (Matthew 10:34-36). Luke knows that story too – he and Matthew received the basic story from Mark (Mark 6:6-13) – however Luke does not mention the thought of family division at that time, likely because Mark didn’t. One of Luke’s themes is the visitation of God to his people. In the second part of our reading today Jesus chastises the crowds for their inability to interpret the signs of the times. The times Jesus is talking about, of course, is that very time when Jesus has come to them. This is not some distant time in some distant future but now, in Jesus’ own time! Luke shares this saying with Matthew who puts it at a completely different place in his gospel (Matthew 16:1-4), just prior to the time when Jesus will ask his disciples who they think he is and Peter will give his correct answer. Those to whom Jesus speaks in Matthew are far different from Luke as well – Luke’s Jesus is speaking to a great crowd of people; Matthew’s Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees and Sadducees who are the enemies of Jesus. Luke’s purpose in telling the story at this point is to heighten the expectation of God’s visitation and to exhort people to be ready – Luke is focusing on being prepared. The last piece in today’s reading is a call by Luke’s Jesus to settle accounts between those who are in a dispute. In a way Luke is telling his readers to “get their house in order” because something great is coming. Luke shares this passage with Matthew. Again Matthew has placed this saying in a different location – in the “Sermon on the Mount” where Jesus is reinterpreting the OT Law (Matthew 5:25-26). It is interesting to see in these passages the different uses of Luke and Matthew. We have noted that both seem to use the source they share in common much more freely than they do Mark – their primary source. The reason for that is that Mark is a narrative – much like their own gospel – and “Q” is a gathering of sayings. It is impossible to reconstruct the order in “Q” since we do not have a copy to go by – and because we can’t determine whether Matthew or Luke is more diligent in following the original order – both seem to disregard the order. So, for both, this second source is a “goldmine” of the sayings of Jesus to be used to supplement Mark. Perhaps one of the things we can learn from all of this is to recognize that we simply do not have available to us the exact chronology of what happened and when it happened. We just don’t know the exact storyline of the ministry of Jesus as a “newspaper account”. What we have are the creations of brilliant writers who have ordered the material to proclaim a distinct message – they are evangelists after all and theologians attempting to be faithful witnesses to the truth they find in Jesus. And that is far more valuable to us than having a “correct newspaper account” of what really happened!